Help for the Helpless

This evening, I had the unfortunate experience of being the lead police officer on a suicide investigation.  Upon arrival, I found a white male approximately 50 years of age lying on his back in his bedroom.  Closer examination revealed most of the left side of his head to be missing and a shotgun laying nearby.  It was obvious he had been deceased for several hours, as all of the blood had left his body and Rigamortis had set in.  Without getting into the graphic details of the scene and the pattern of blood and brain matter spread throughout, it was a disturbing and troubling scene to work.  His wife thought so too when she found him!

Although I feel sorry for those who’s lives are so troubling that suicide is the only answer, I often feel more anger than sorrow.  How many people were affected tonight and how many horrible images do we now carry because of the deceased’s selfless act?  His wife, a hard working and caring person, didn’t deserve to find her husband’s mutilated stiff corpse lying on the floor of her bedroom. The young officers on our department, having never before witnessed death, didn’t deserve this as their first encounter.  But, we all endured and did our job.  The wife answered our questions to the best of her ability and her husband’s dead body was covered and removed from the scene.

Her husband now gone forever, yet much of him still left behind on the floor, walls and ceiling, his wife approached myself and fellow officers to ask where she could get assistance with the cost of burial services.  “I don’t have any money”, she said, “we were renting this house and have no insurance, but I need to have someone cleanup the bedroom”.  She continued, “do you know who I can call?”.  Knowing that most Crime Scene Cleanup Companies would charge upwards of $2,500 to clean the scene, I was hesitant to extend a helping hand.  However, I explained to her that several such companies were available and gave her the names and phone numbers of a few.

Government agencies and a variety of programs are in place to assist the homeless, our veterans, the unemployed, the handicapped and those who illegally reside in our country.  Yet I’m not aware of any such programs or agencies willing to assist family members with the cost of cleaning a trauma scene following the death of a loved one.   Although insurance policies often provide for some coverage for the cleanup costs, more often than not suicides are not a covered incident. The cost of crime scene cleanup and suicide cleanup, although not affordable for many families, is often their responsibility.

If you or your company knows of any assistance programs or have in place a system to help those in need who cannot afford your services, please share your thoughts, ideas and experience with us.